As it is national work-life week, a YouGov report has been released, which states 43 per cent of people regularly send work emails outside of work hours and the reason for this is because they are too busy to get everything done inside a working day.
One in seven people are unhappy with their work-life balance. The demographics of employees that are most likely to say they are unhappy with their work-life balance are aged between 25-34, single and earning between £40k-£45k annually. Forty-one per cent of 25-34 year olds also feel a lot of pressure to work out of working hours so regularly stay behind to impress their boss.
Chris Reilly, managing director from My Voucher Codes thinks that a work-life balance is important especially for younger employees, his advice is below:
‘It’s difficult when starting out in the work-place after school or University because employees are wanting to make the right impression and it can be confusing getting to grips with the way the office works. My best advice to young employees would be to get involved in the community instead of focusing on staying late to work and get to know the office environment.’
Eighty-three per cent of workers think it is important to have a good work-life balance but many will continue to stay late at work or take phone calls outside of working hours. Chris Reilly gives his advice on how to manage your time and plan a more efficient work-life balance:
‘I understand that working out of hours has to be done sometimes, but I try and encourage employees to leave work at the end of the day. If it isn’t urgent, then it can wait until the morning.
‘The top things to consider when finding a work-life balance is making sure that you plan your day or even week ahead. Keep a diary and plan your deadlines, what you need to do and how you can achieve them. This will help to keep a clear mind.
‘If you do need to work out of hours, come in earlier in the morning rather than stay late, it will keep your mind fresh and you will have your entire evening to yourself.’
Further reading on work-life balance
